Career summary

Details for Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders


Description

Operate or tend machines to bleach, shrink, wash, dye, or finish textiles or synthetic or glass fibers.

Tasks

  • Add dyes, water, detergents, or chemicals to tanks to dilute or strengthen solutions, according to established formulas and solution test results.
  • Notify supervisors or mechanics of equipment malfunctions.
  • Adjust equipment controls to maintain specified heat, tension, and speed.
  • Observe display screens, control panels, equipment, and cloth entering or exiting processes to determine if equipment is operating correctly.
  • Prepare dyeing machines for production runs, and conduct test runs of machines to ensure their proper operation.
  • Monitor factors such as temperatures and dye flow rates to ensure that they are within specified ranges.
  • Start and control machines and equipment to wash, bleach, dye, or otherwise process and finish fabric, yarn, thread, or other textile goods.
  • Examine and feel products to identify defects and variations from coloring and other processing standards.
  • Record production information such as fabric yardage processed, temperature readings, fabric tensions, and machine speeds.
  • Test solutions used to process textile goods to detect variations from standards.
  • Remove dyed articles from tanks and machines for drying and further processing.
  • Study guides, charts, and specification sheets, and confer with supervisors to determine machine setup requirements.
  • Confer with coworkers to get information about order details, processing plans, or problems that occur.
  • Inspect machinery to determine necessary adjustments and repairs.
  • Weigh ingredients to be mixed together for use in textile processing.
  • Sew ends of cloth together, by hand or using machines, to form endless lengths of cloth to facilitate processing.
  • Key in processing instructions to program electronic equipment.
  • Soak specified textile products for designated times.
  • Thread ends of cloth or twine through specified sections of equipment prior to processing.
  • Mount rolls of cloth on machines, using hoists, or place textile goods in machines or pieces of equipment.
  • Perform machine maintenance, such as cleaning and oiling equipment, and repair or replace worn or defective parts.
  • Ravel seams that connect cloth ends when processing is completed.
  • Install, level, and align components such as gears, chains, dies, cutters, and needles.
  • Creel machines with bobbins or twine.

Interests

  • Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Education, training, experience

  • Education - These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
  • Training - Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
  • Experience - Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Knowledge

  • Education and Training -Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Chemistry -Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
  • Production and Processing -Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Skills

None found.

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